Field Marshal Sir Edward Blakeney GCB GCH


Sir Edward Blakeney was born the 4th son of Colonel William Blakeney. He was captured in the expedition to Dutch Guiana in 1796 and was subjected to great hardship. He served in the war in Holland in 1799 and transferred several times before joining the Royal Fusiliers in 1804. He commanded the 1st Battalion from 1808 and took them to the Peninsula to fight under Arthur Wellesley. He was at Busaco, and Albuhera where he was badly wounded in the leg. He commanded both battalions at Aldea da Ponte in 1811 after Lt-Col Myers of the 2nd Battalion was killed at Albuhera. He fought at Cuidad Rodrigo and Badajoz, again badly wounded. He was at Vittoria and Pamplona in 1813, also the Pyrenees and Nivelle. He took part in the fateful battle of New Orleans in 1815 and was with the regiment in France after the battle of Waterloo. He commanded a brigade in Portugal under Henry Clinton in 1826. In Ireland he had command of the army at a time when there was great starvation and unrest. His marriage to Maria Gardiner produced no children. He died at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 1868 and was buried at Oak Lane Cemetery in Twickenham.

1778 Born 26th March at Newcastle-upon-Tyne
1794 Cornet in 8th Light Dragoons. 28th Feb
1794 Lieutenant 121st Foot. 4th Sep
1794 Captain 99th Foot. 24th Dec
1796 Expedition to Dutch Guiana
1798 Evacuation of San Domingo
1798 17th Foot. 10th Mar
1799 Campaign in Holland
1801 Major. 17th Sep
1803 47th Foot. 11th July
1804 7th Royal Fusiliers. 7th April
1807 Copenhagen
1808 Lieutenant-Colonel. 7th May
1809 Martinique
1809 Nova Scotia
1809 Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers
1809 Peninsula War
1814 married Maria Gardiner
1815 Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
1825 Major-General. 27th May
1826 Portugal
1832 Colonel of 7th Royal Fusiliers. 20th Sep
1836 Commander-in-Chief in Ireland
1836 Lord Justice of Ireland. 7th May
1838 Lieutenant-General. 28th June
1849 Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. 7th May
1854 Colonel of The Royal Scots. 21st Dec
1854 General. 20th June
1855 Retired
1855 Lieutenant-Governor of Royal Hospital Chelsea. 6th Feb
1856 Governor of Royal Hospital. 25th Sep
1862 Field Marshal. 9th Nov
1865 Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifle Brigade. 28th Aug
1868 Died at the Royal Hospital on 2nd August


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